Poor FM/AM radio reception

[Herbiv4]

Hello there,

I have the CD sat nav/radio system in my 2003 A6 Avant and I have noticed through borrowing other vehicles that my radio reception is very poor in comparrison.

For example, I live in Ayr and driving around town I find that Classic FM is crackly in my car but when driving another Audi or a Vectra I had to use recently - I had a rock solid signal and could pick up stations as far away as BBC Radio Ulster... something that is impossible in my car.

I know that the head unit has been replaced and is relatively new and I had to have the GPS and radio ariel cables replaced as there had been some messing around from the previous owner.

So the last weak is really the signal amplifier.

I wondered if someone here might know where the amplifier is i.e. is it in the combined GPS/radio ariel on the roof or is it sited with the head unit itself.

If it's in the roof then Audi would be reluctant to replace it under warranty due to the cost.

Any advice would be appreciated.

My new multitronic gearbox is working fine after the battle I had with Audi before Christmas but my dashboard still only shows six "gears" when I was told that the new box has seven ratios. I was wondering if it could be damaged if I use the manual selector regularly....

Thanks,

Stephen.

[gazza57]

Check your antenna ground, one of the commonest causes of poor radio reception is a poor antenna ground connection.
Quite often, the cause is a build up of verdigris at the ground connection.
Make sure the external antenna body has no cracks or splits in it. If it has, water ingress can seriously compromise the antenna signal, again make sure that the ground is tight and clean.
Also , check that there is good continuity between the Sat Nav case and the antenna ground through the antenna cables, sometimes you can get a cable with a poor ground connection as most of the cables are crimped these days and not soldered.
Make sure that the antenna is wired as it should be, as you mention somebody's been rooting around with the wiring, that's worth a check too.
If all of these checks reveal no problems then it could be your masthead antenna amplifier.
Good Luck
Gazza57

[Herbiv4]

Thanks for your reply Gazza57.

I tried looking for the fault myself but everything seemed OK... I have replaced the mast recently as my car has the combined GPS/AM/FM unit on the roof.

In the end I took my car to an Audi dealership for another problem relating to the air conditioning (the auxilliary fan is going to be replaced next week).

I asked them to check the reception problem and they told me that it was a fualt with the amplifier and that is also going to be replaced.

Luckily my extended warranty (that runs out next week) has covered these items.

When these two things are fixed I'll have a car that will be fault free for the first time in two years since I purchased it!

Since purchase the following items have been replaced or repaired...

Battery and Ignition coils (all failed days after purchase)

Offside headlight - was told it was condensation at pruchase - discovered it was actually an MoT failure... dealership paid for replacement.

Tow Bar (3rd party) (blocking parking sensors from purchase - dealership paid for a factory fit replacement)

Alternator (on the 1st day of a hoiday in north Devon jast as we got there!)

Coolant Pump (scary catrastrophic failure at 70 mph)

Gearbox (incorrectly serviced before purchase from an Approved Audi dealer - Audi UK and dealership paid for replacement)

Auxilliary Fan (initially went wrong during a traffic jam last September - 22C outside - all the windows suddenly steamed up and the oil and coolant temperature shot up)

AM/FM Amplifier - poor reception since purchase even after head unit and cables had been replaced.

And finally - when changing the number plate I discover that the vehicle had been sold with an MoT advisory warning telling me that my two front tyres were nearly illegal. I found this out 6 months after pruchase and realised that the advisory had been witheld by the Audi dealership.

Not the best of times.....

[nickpick]

Hi Guys,
My first post.
I've got a similar problem with poor am/fm reception and I think its to do with the antenna masthead amplifier. Can someone please tell me where I can find it?
I've got a 2001 a6 2.5tdi avant

[Herbiv4]

Hello there NickPick,

As far as I know the am/fm amplifier is situated near to the cd changer on the left hand side of the boot behind a removable cover.

Am still waiting for the dealership to get the right amplifier for my year/model of A6 - apparantly there are several models of Amplifier all specific to different Audi models so be careful when ordering or sourcing a replacement.

Hope this is of some help.

[gazza57]

Hello there NickPick,

As far as I know the am/fm amplifier is situated near to the cd changer on the left hand side of the boot behind a removable cover.

Am still waiting for the dealership to get the right amplifier for my year/model of A6 - apparantly there are several models of Amplifier all specific to different Audi models so be careful when ordering or sourcing a replacement.

Hope this is of some help.

Herbiv, If Audi has withheld details as you suggest mate, kick 'em into touch, I would. What a bunch of amateurs!
Gazza57

[eeyore]

I have a problem with my radio reception but only on startup. The radio comes on at the pre-programmed station it was last on when the car was switched off (OK so far...) but reception is really poor. The RDS is on and picks up the correct frequency and displays the station ID.

If I "nudge" the tuner button up and then down, back to the station I was on, everything is fine and stays fine until the car is switched off again.

Any ideas guys?

[eeyore]

I have a problem with my radio reception but only on startup. The radio comes on at the pre-programmed station it was last on when the car was switched off (OK so far...) but reception is really poor. The RDS is on and picks up the correct frequency and displays the station ID.

If I "nudge" the tuner button up and then down, back to the station I was on, everything is fine and stays fine until the car is switched off again.

Any ideas guys?

Any suggestions?? It's driving me mad!

[theshug]

The problem is that the antenna is powersed from the head unit. If a non standard head unit is used the antenna has to be powered independantly via an adaptor. To connect a non standard antenna an adaptpor is required, the adaptor for VW antenna contains a powere connector for the antenna which is connected to a 12v supply, normally the blue wire in the wiring loom to the stereo.